Troublemaker Studios
Background: Troublemaker Studios (formerly known as "Los Hooligans Productions") was founded by Robert Rodriguez and his ex-wife Elizabeth Avellan in 1991; however, it was reincorporated to its current name in 2001. They created the Spy Kids and Mariachi franchises, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Sin City, the double feature Grindhouse, Shorts, Predators, and Machete. 1st Logo (Spy Kids Custom Variant) (March 30, 2001) Nicknames: "The Boy Playing Guitar", "Pepino the Boy" Logo: We suddenly zoom to the left on a black background. We see a boy named Pepino wearing a red shirt with a black dot and a red and blue cap. Pepino plays the Spy Kids theme on his acoustic guitar while he sits down on the letter "U". We then zoom out to reveal the text: TROUBLEMAKER STUDIOS which is seen in the middle of the screen. The logo shines. FX/SFX: Pepino playing the Spy Kids main title on his guitar, and the logo "shining". Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie. Availability: Can be seen only on Spy Kids. Scare Factor: Medium. 2nd Logo (Spy Kids 2: Island of Lost Dreams Custom Variant) (August 7, 2002) Nickname: "Pepino on a Rollercoaster" Logo: Pepino suddenly zooms toward the viewer and rides down the T and the goes to the U with the letters representing a rollercoaster. The camera zooms out relieving the text: TROUBLEMAKER STUDIOS in the same font as the first logo. The logo shines like the previous logo, then the word "STUDIOS" disappears as Pepino leaves the logo. Trivia: After the logo segues into the film, Pepino appears in the theme park scene of Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams. FX/SFX: Pepino riding on his rollercoaster and the logo "shining". Music/Sounds: Just kids screaming. Availability: Seen only at the beginning of Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams. Scare Factor: Medium. 3rd Logo (July 25, 2003-June 10, 2005) Nickname: "CGI Pepino" Logo: We zoom down to Pepino sitting in a blue chair In a black/blue systemized room. He then puts on some 3D glasses and pushes the button on the chair, angering it as he gives a thumbs up gesture. He starts riding and flying, revealing the text "TROUBLEMAKER STUDIOS" in the same font as the previous logos. Pepino crashes through the company name seconds later. Variants: * In the 2-D edits of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl, Pepino wears his sunglasses instead of the 3D glasses. * In The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D, Pepino wears Sharkboy 3D glasses while the chair turns into a shark and the background is a metal wall. FX/SFX: Pepino wearing 3-D glasses and crashing the logo. Music/Sounds: Depends on the film. Availability: Seen on Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl on Disney Channel and occasionally Disney XD reruns. Scare Factor: Minimal. This is very tame, compared to the next logo. 4th Logo (September 12, 2003- ) Nickname: "The Explosion", "Explosion From Hell" Logo: On a black background, we see a huge explosion. The company's name zooms out to face us, reading "TROUBLEMAKER STUDIOS", which is superimposed over the explosion. At the end, the logo "burns." Variant: * Starting with Predators in 2010, the logo was given an enhanced and high-definition look. * On Machete Kills, the logo reads "QUICK DRAW PRODUCTONS". FX/SFX: The explosion, the company name zooming out. Music/Sounds: Just the "explode" sound effect. Availability: Current; the original version debuted on Once Upon a Time in Mexico. It can also be seen on Sin City, the two Grindhouse movies Planet Terror and Death Proof, and the endings of The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl and Shorts. The enhanced version is all new and debuted on Predators. Scare Factor: Medium to high; the fire background might not sit well with anybody. 5th Logo (Shorts Custom Variant) (August 21, 2009) Nickname: "Pepino the Rocket Boy" Logo: Over a black background, we see Pepino using a black box. This morphs into rocket wings in Pepino's back, making him a rocket boy. After a few moments, the camera zooms away, revealing the Troublemaker Studios logo in an orange color. Pepino flies towards the logo, which shines like the first two logos. FX/SFX: Same as the first three logos: CGI and Pepino animating, the shine. Music/Sounds: The opening theme of the movie. Availability: Can only be seen on Shorts. Scare Factor: Low to medium. This is much tamer than the previous logo. 6th Logo (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World Custom Variant) (August 29, 2011) Nickname: "Pepino and the Time Machine" Logo: We zoom towards the D on a black background. We see a clock that Pepino is holding. He gets rid of a lot of junk and gets a drill, making it a time machine. The time machine then expands to cover up Pepino as the hands move closer and start spinning. It then goes back into Pepino's hands as the hands then become a propeller as the camera zooms away, revealing the Troublemaker Studios logo looking more simple as the gradients were removed and the word Studios is in a different font. Pepino then flies around and off the screen. Unlike the previous logos, the logo in this one doesn't shine. FX/SFX: Same as the previous logos, without the shining. Cheesy Factor: That was a bad idea to remove the shining. They also removed the gradients! That wasn't a good idea, wasn't it? Music/Sounds: The sounds corresponding to the animation. Availability: Can only be seen on Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Scare Factor: Low to medium. 7th Logo (Spy Kids: All the Time in the World Game Variant) (August 9, 2011) Logo: On a black background, we see the Troublemaker Studios logo, a bit lighted in the center, with Pepino's head above. FX/SFX: None. Music/Sounds: None. Availability: Can only be seen on the Nintendo DS game Spy Kids: All the Time in the World. Scare Factor: None.